Cartoner loader



Nov. 29, 1966 J. J. BRADLEY CARTONER LOADER 4 SheetS-Shee l Filed March 16, 1964 NOV- 29, 1966 J. J. BRADLEY GARTONER LOADER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 16, 1964 A AN/ NN Nw.. Il l .HMH/Mil Nfl 9&1 www w WJHWMWF@ d.\"\ l gp;

70 @haw Nov. 29, 1966 J. 1. BRADLEY CARTONER LOADER 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 ZMS/lib!" Filed March 16, 1964 Nov. 29, 1966 J. J. BRADLEY 3,288,255

CARTONER LOADER Filed March 16, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 NEA :H i u.. uw@

EN @Wd @mmf Gm fw Kw z flllll 3,288,266 CARTQNER LOADER John J. Bradley, GreenBay, Wis., assignor to Paper Converting Machine Company, Inc., Green Bay, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Mar. 16, 1964, Ser. No. 352,105 2 Claims. (Cl. 198-33) This invention relates to a cartoner loader, that is, apparatus for loading the input conveyor to a device for cartoning a product such as facial tissue.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the invention has utility in the .provision of packaged material such as facial tissues. These tissues are provided in the form of la stack of 100 or 200 count generally, and are transferred to a cartoning mechanism wherein the stack is inserted into a paperboard carton.

In the past, a number of diiculties have attended the handlingof the web stacks prior -to introduction into the cartoner, the stacking being unsecured, so that any manipulation is necessarily -a delicate operation. Present practices are conned to manual handling, which is limited in speed well below cartoning machinery capabilities-so that, for example, each operating cycle of the cartoning machine is not presently use. With the advent of high speed stack-forming machines, the need for fast and reliably operating handling devices has increased, and the provision of a device for this purpose constitutes an important objective of the invention.

`Another important object of the inventionis to provide a vunique handling method for stacks of web material wherein the stacks are rapidly and reliably reoriented 90 through a novel sweeping step.

Other objects and advantages m-ay be seen in the details of construction and operation set down in this specification.

The invention is described in conjunction with an illustrative embodiment in the accompanying drawings, in which- FIGS. 1 and 1A, respectively, when considered together as joined end-to-end along the junction line A-A thereof, schematically show one form of apparatus for carrying out the inventive method of manipulating bundles or stacks of facial tissue;

FIGS. 2 and 2A, respectively, when also considered jointly as connected end-to-end along the junction line B-B thereof, schematically show a side elevational view of the apparatus of FIGS. l and 1A, respectively;

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of appartus for transferring longitudinally-spaced bundles of web material from a speed-up bundle conveyor and rotating the bundles 90 to dispose them in spaced, side-by-side relation so as to match bundle-receiving buckets or holders of the infeed conveyor of the cartoning machine;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view, partially in side elevation and ypartially in section, of the apparatus appearing in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a vertical detail sectional view through a part of the apparatus appearing in FIG. 4 as taken along the 5-5 thereof;

FIG. 6 is a view in side elevation of the appara-tus appearing in FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively, but in greater detail;

FIG. 7 is a view, partially in elevation and partially in vertical section, of the apparatus appearing in FIG. 6 as taken on the line 7 7 thereof;

FIG. 8 is an enl-arged detail view of those parts of the apparatus appearing in the circled C in the upper left-hand corner of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the part appearing in FIG. 8; and

States Patent C) 3,288,268 Patented Nov. 29, 1966 ICC FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the par-ts appearing in FIG. 9.

Referring now to the rst sheet of drawings which carries FIGS. 1, 1A, 2 and 2A, the numeral 10 designates generally a conveyor associated with a continuous folder or interfolder, or the like, wherein a plurality of paper webs lare arranged in superposed relation to develop the stacks of tissue to be cartoned by a cartoning mechanism as at 11. A transfer conveyor is provided as at 12, which in turn leads to a severing conveyor 13. Positioned above the conveyor 13 are a plurality of rotary disc knives 14 which sever the continuous web stack into la plurality of discrete stacks.

As the stacks or bundles of tissue leave the severing conveyor, they ultimately pass to a speed-up conveyor 15,

. wherein a prescribed center-to-cen-ter distance is achieved.

Ultimately, the bundles or-stacks (as at 16 in FIG. 3) lare to be rotated or reoriented 90 to the position or condition designated 17 in FIG. 3, and for that purpose the paddle mechanism generally designated 18 is employed.

As can be best appreciated from a consideration of FIGS. 3 and 4, the paddle mechanism 18 is operative to sweep the bundles 16 through an arc so as to dispose the leaving bundles 17 at an orienta-tion 90 different from that at 16. A-t this stage, as can be appreciated from FIG. 4, the bundles 17 enter an incline as at 19, wherein each individual stack 17 is deposited in av holder or bucket 20. The buckets 20 are provided as part ofthe `cartoner 11 and present the stacks or bundles for inserting into a suitablerectangular enclosure (not shown).

For the purpose of reorienting the stack-s 16, the mechanism 18 is made up of a frame generally designated 21 in FIG. 6, which is interposed in the path of the speed-up conveyor 15 (see FIG. 4). The speed-up conveyor 15 is supported on a frame portion as at 22, which, in FIG. 6, supports a belt pulley 23.

The frame 21 is equipped with a pedestal 24 (see FIGS. 6 land 7) which carries a .gear box 25. The gear box 25 serves as a speed reducer for a rotative input delivered as at 26 from the line shaft 27 (see FIG. l). The line shaft 27 is suitably powered by an electric motor as at 28 (still referring to FIG. l).

Coupled to the speed reducer 25 is a verticallyextending shaft 29 which is suitably journaled as at 301 and 31 in the correspondingly-numbered bearings secured to the frame members 32 and 33, respectively. Here, it will be appreciated that the frame 21 includes uprights as at 34 and 35, interconnected by longitudinal stringers as at 36 and 37. The upper frame members 32 and 33 `are platform-supported on .top of Ithe uprights 34 and 35, being suitably interconnected as at 38 .and 39.

A tail shaft corresponding to the shaft 29 is provided at 40 (see FIG. 6), which is suitably journaled in pillow Iblocks 41 and 42.

Each shaft 29 and 40 carries upper and lower sprockets, the upper sprocket on shaft 29 being designated 43, while the lower sprocket is designated 44. The upper andlower lsprockets xed to the shaft 40 are designate-d 45 and 46, respectively. Entrained on the sprockets 43 and 45 is a conveyor cha-in 47 which carries a plurality of verticallyextending bars 48. The bars 48 are also `secured to a chain 49 which is entrained about the lower sprockets 44 and 46. These chains are supported respectively on rails 47a and 49a. A-t the bottom end of each vertical bar 48 is provided a pusher or pushers as at 50.

As can be best appreciated from FIG. 3, the pushers 50 engage the stacks |16 and, in the illustration given, move the same through a `horizontal arc of 901 to dispose the stacks in the position desginated 17 in FIG. 3. For this purpose, the frame 21 is equipped with a platform 51 and a generally arcuate Wall or guard 52. The platform 51 and guard wall 52 are suitably supported from the upright 35 and fra-me portion 22.

The incline previously referred to at 19* in FIG. 4 is made up, in the illustration given, of a plurality of longitudinally-extending, tapered lingers as at 53v in FIG. 5. Also seen in FIG. 5 are the buckets 20 which are slotted fore and aft so as to ride along the Ifingers 53 in the fashion depicted schematically in FIG. 4. In other words, the carriers 20` are mounted on horizontally-disposed conveyor chains as at 54 in FIG. 4, and as they advance to the right in that View, receive the stacks `17 under the urging of the pushers 50. When the pushers 50 have finished their function of introducing the associated stack '17 into the mating carrier 20, the pushers 50 pass over the carrier as at 50u in FIG. 3 to return to the input end of -the mechanism 18 and repeat the procedure.

The conveyor 54 is seen yto be equipped with a plurality of the carriers 20 and includes a chain as at 55 entrained about a tail sprocket as at 56 in FIG. 6. The discharge end of the conveyor 54 occurs within the cartoner mechanism 11 (see FIG. l).

In one embodiment of the invention, the incline 19 is arranged at an angle of about to the horizontal and has a horizon-tal length of .about 27". In this distance, the stack-s 17 are lowered about S" into the receptacles or bucket carriers 20. The stacks 16 (ultimately 17) 'handled by such a device -18 measure about 9% in length and 4% in width, Ithe infeed or speed-up conveyor providing the stacks |16 with their long dimensions aligned as in FIG. 3 and with a center-.to-center spacing of about 14. The stacks 17 have their short dimensions aligned, being -oriented 90 relative to the stacks 16 and have a center-to-center spacing of 71/2 or 8 t-o match currently standard cartoning machinery design. The mechanism 18 thus not only reorients each bundle 16, but changes the spacing between bundles.

In doing this, the bundles or stacks 16 shift radially relative to the shaft 40 (see FIG. 3). The initial velocity of a stack Ior bundle 16 entering the mechanism 18 carries it radially inwardly notwithstanding the rfact that it has left t-he conveyor 15. This is illustrated by the position of the -bundle designated 16a in FIG. 3. For this purpose, I provide the pusher members 50 of a length greater than the length of the stack 16. At an intermedilate portion of the sweep-ing travel of the stack 16a, t-he inertial component is overcome by the centrifugal component so that at the time the bundle reaches the position 17a in FIG. 3, it is approximately in abutting relation with the guard wall 52. Thus during the arcuate travel of the bundle 16 under the inuence of the pusher 50, there is iirst a radially inward movement, followed by a radially outward movement to develop the aligned stacks :as `at 17 in FIG. 3. I nd that optimum operation is achieved when the tip 50a of the pusher member 50 clears the n-eXt bundle 16 by -about 1A". To achieve Ithis optimum operation, the radii of the sprocket 45 and the radial length of the pusher member 50 must be correlated. If the ratio of the radii of the sprocket and the blade is too large, .the pusher blade tip will not clear the next adjacent bundle 16 without a much greater spacing provided between the bundle 16 on the conveyor 15. If, on the `other hand, the radial length of the pusher blade 50 is large compared with the sprocket radius, the blade tip .moves with considerable velocity, thereby developing excessive impact when meeting the bundle 16. Since the bundle 16 is relatively unsecured, consisting of layers of web material, impact can destroy the generally rectangular conformation desired. In the illustration given, the radial distance to .the pusher blade tip is 10%, while the sprocket pitch diameter is about 47/8.

It will be appreciated that these principal physical pa- Iameters are dependent upon the spacing of the bundles l on the two -conveyors 15 and 54. l With the arrangement described, it is possible to lhandle up to 300 bundles of tissue per minute, which is the present limit of facial tissue cartoners. It will be apparent that other rectangular commodities can be handled advantageously according to the teachings of the invention, and Where -these commodities are essentially rigid, substantially higher speeds are attainable. y

While in the foregoing specification a detailed description of the invention has been set down for the purpose of illustration, many variations in the details herein given may be made by those skilled lin the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for handling objects such as unsecured, generally rectangular bundles of stacked web material, comprising a frame having la generally horizontal platform, a iirst conveyor operatively associated with said frame for sequentially delivering said bundles to said platform with each bundle being oriented on said first conveyor with its long dimension parallel to the direction of conveyor travel, a secon-d conveyor, a pair of vertically disposed shafts rotatably mounted on said frame, one of said shafts being provide-d adjacent said platfonm, means on said frame for rotating said shafts, chain means and sprocket means operably coupled to said shafts, a plurality of paddle-like pusher members mounted on said chain means for movement therewith in an arcuate fashion over said platform to orient and transfer said bundles from said first to said second conveyor, said second conveyor being operably associated with said frame and ar'- ranged to receive said bundles and transport the same along a path wherein each bundle is oriented with its shorter dimension parallel yto said second conveyor path said second conveyor including a plural-ity of horizontally spaced-apart bundle-receiving carriers, said platform being equipped with `a plurality of spaced-apart tapered ngers disposed in the path of carrier travel, said fingers being slotted to accommodate passing by said fingers, whereby said pushers are adapted to sweep said bundles down said tapered fingers into said carriers.

2. Apparatus for handling unsecured generally rectangular bundles of stacked web material, such as facial tissue comprising a frame having a generally horizontal platform, a first conveyor operatively associated with said frame for sequentially delivering said bundle to said platform, a second conveyor, a pair of vertically disposed shafts rotatably mounted on'said frame with one of said shafts being provided adjacent said platform, means on said frame for rotating said shafts, chain and sprocket means operably coupled to said shaft and equipped with a plurality of paddle-like pusher members for movement therewith in an arcuate fashion over said platform to orient and transfer said bundles from said first to said second conveyor, said second conveyor being operably associated with said frame and arranged to receive said bundles and transport the same, said second conveyor including a plurality of horizontally spaced-apart bundlesreceiving carriers, said platform being equipped with a plurality of spaced-apart tapered fingers `disposed in the path of carriertravel, said carriers being slotted to accommodate passing by said fingers.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,027,021 3/1962 Kramer 198-33.2

FOREIGN PATENTS 530,088 12/ 1940 Great Britain.

EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner.

RICHARD E. AEGERTER, Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR HANDLING OBJECTS SUCH AS UNSECURED, GENERALLY RECTANGULAR BUNDLES OF STACHED WEB MATERIAL, COMPRISING A FRAME HAVING A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL PLATFORM, A FIRST CONVEYOR OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID FRAME FOR SEQUENTIALLY DELIVERING SAID BUNDLES TO SAID PLATFORM WITH EACH BUNDLE BEING ORIENTED ON SAID FIRST CONVEYOR WITH ITS LONG DIMENSION PARALLEL TO THE DIRECTION OF CONVEYOR TRAVEL, A SECOND CONVEYOR, A PAIR OF VERTICALLY DISPOSED SHAFTS ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME, ONE OF SAID SHAFTS BEING PROVIDED ADJACENT SAID PLATFORM, MEANS ON SAID FRAME FOR ROTATING SAID SHAFTS, CHAIN MEANS AND SPROCKET MEANS OPERABLY COUPLED TO SAID SHAFTS, A PLURALITY OF PADDLE-LIKE PUSHER MEMBERS MOUNTED ON SAID CHAIN MEANS FOR MOVEMENT THEREWITH IN AN ARCUATE FASHION OVER SAID PLATFORM TO ORIENT AND TRANSFER SAID BUNDLES FROM SAID FIRST TO SAID SECOND CONVEYOR, SAID SECOND CONVEYOR BEING OPERABLY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID FRAME AND ARRANGED TO RECEIVE SAID BUNDLES AND TRANSPORT THE SAME ALONG A PATH WHEREIN EACH BUNDLE IS ORIENTED WITH ITS SHORTER DIMENSION PARALLEL TO SAID SECOND CONVEYOR PATH SAID SECOND CONVEYOR INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF HORIZONTALLY SPACE-APART BUNDLE-RECEIVING CARRIERS, SAID PLATFORM BEING EQUIPPED WITH A PLURALITY OF SPACED-APART TAPERED FINGERS DISPOSED IN THE PATH OF CARRIER TRAVEL, SAID FINGERS BEING SLOTTED TO ACCOMMODATE PASSING BY SAID FINGERS, WHEREBY SAID PUSHERS ARE ADAPTED TO SWEEP SAID BUNDLES DOWN SAID TAPERED FINGERS INTO SAID CARRIERS. 